Howls in the Rockies
by Niza.ExE
Summary: The account of a blessed pack as they wander through Fort Collins Colorado, fighting their way past spirits, people, and the constant presence of a war that lingers just past their borders. Held together loosely on the core rules of Werewolf The Forsaken, this story takes place in a rough 2005 setting. Please see my profile before reading for a story side guide.


Five sets of tracks hit the asphalt simultaneously leaving cracks in the pavement. "Sons of bitches. Keep up." Ripped leather slapped a bleeding mans back as he ran, his companions close behind him. "I fucking lost it. We lost the thing already!" The leader turned to his four companions as he raised his fist. "Get it together. It's left the city and we have it's taste. Let's keep on patrol and nail this bastard." The team was obviously exhausted from the nightly chase and looked to their leader, their eyes begging for mercy. "We have work in the morning man. We can't chase this thing all night." The leader turned with a dark gleam in his eyes, teeth beginning to show past his lips. "Find it. Stop it. You can pull a week of all nighters for all I care." Breaking into a light jog, the team split without daring to argue. There was no need for more bloodshed tonight.

The hours seemed to drip by while they stomped through the rainy city in circles. The lone protester to their orders stalked alone, his view high above the others, jumping from fire escape to rooftops in the city as he lacked the strength of his ally to make the full jump. With a deep sigh he circled back again and jumped onto the last rooftop, peering down into the alleyway. "Gotcha." He shifted as fast as he could, letting the signal rip through the night. His paws slapped the edge of the roof and focus shifted. Channeling what he could, the scent of his pounce was scattered through the air, creating his perfect dive. Blood and steam hissed from the wounds the second they met the air. The target looked up, its glowing eyes filled with a primal rage as it fought, the body melting in and out of the attacks to avoid them. "Go home wolf, you've got no power here." Standing on its back legs, the discolored bear raised its claws. With a yellow flickering burn from it's eyes, the purple and blue furred beast took it's time to watch the wolf below. "Back away wolf. I've killed many like you before."

Fear was the only traction between his paws and the ground as he lowered his stance. From around the corner, another howl rung out and he knew his pack was close. "Thomas! Down!" Stomping and clanking down the alley towards them came Lauren. Her legs pulled her over the crouching wolf and into her chest. Connecting her combat boots into the chest of the bear, it struck her with its paw, raking through her pants and deep into her knee. The hunch of the beast was overcome with the second strike of their team, the leader smashing a large blunt pipe into the back of its head.

The beast collapsed close to Thomas who crawled a few inches before shifting back. "Don't you ever let me catch you fleshside again. I will rip the goddamn tree you come from right out of the ground." Lifting the pipe, he speared it into the chest of the bear, and with a fading rip of flesh, it disappeared. The pipe clattered to the ground. "Nice work. Go home, get sleep." With nothing else, Lucas wiped the strange colored stain on his hands from the flesh of the bear onto his pants. Thomas stood and groaned, debating as he looked up at the moon if tonight was even worth wasting the sleep over. His room and pack mate came stood at the corner of the alleyway with her arms folded. "I'll make coffee when we get back, we can waste time sideways." Sarah was the pack spiritualist and spiritual adviser. She said even before the change she was always lost in some kind of meditation or various study. While sometimes annoying and nosy with her various bundles of sage and study into their culture, it was refreshing to have someone around with a better outlook than anyone under the name they carried. They walked home almost silently, their bones aching and groaning from the rain soaked deep into their skin. Once home, true to her word she started the coffee and within minutes they were new again, talking and laughing at the table. "It's only 2, let's get going if we're going to step." Moving to the living room and slurping down the last bit of warmth, they stood underneath the bed sized mirror that was cemented to the ceiling. "Want me to lead?" He shook his head, needing the confidence now more then ever. "No. See you there."

Some three miles away, Lauren sat alone at her personal desk. The study she had poured so much time and love into decorating was barren, having been cleaned of the the memories and unwanted reminders of her old life. Children's laughs used to echoes loudly into her study, disrupting almost every moment of her work. "Never though I'd miss how annoying you could get." She smiled and stood, looking into the light of the moon and wondering what to do. Despite pushing her body tonight with that kick, the fickle mother in the sky kept her awake. The stinging of her leg pulled her away from the beauty of the night. She wandered through the dusty house to the bathroom and found expired bandages under the sink. "Leave it to me to dress my wounds in dust." Turning to the broken down home she found no food nor books that hadn't been turned over for months. Despite the pain in her leg she limped out the door and into the night once more. A fast food chain was only three blocks away but the journey was prolonged with her slow pace. The moon hung lightly above the clouds and hummed the through the air with a contagious curiosity. The piercing glow of the metallic lettering distracted the beauty of the night and once inside, assaulted her senses with various forms of grease and metals dipped in sanitizing chemicals.

"Welcome to Catch a burger, where your food is the only the best catch of the day." She eyed the man and nodded. "Right." Glancing up at the menu a frown formed as she examined each of the items. "Just a drink please." He nodded and added, "Would you like to catch a larger one for just thirty cents more?" He paused and held a nervous smile as she stared. "No. Thank you." Filling her drink and sitting down, she gazed at the people outside. Three young men were eating and laughing as they threw their food at each other. Behind them a large truck passed by with a strange blue carpet propped up in the back. Almost spitting out her drink she gave a large sniff to the air. The other patrons had noticed her sniffing the air wildly and looking around. "No." She stood and ran out the door, throwing the drink on the ground and finding a quiet camera free corner. Her skin began to stretch and mold as the hair sprouted. Her face elongated and rounded while the bones crunched into the new shape. With a pounce, she sprang to the roof and started her tracking. The scent had left the area already and was starting to fade. The people below were oblivious to the clack of her claws on the rooftops when she made the jumps. She chased further still and found a dark street to wander, stopping to sniff here and there to keep the track fresh. As she crept around the corner of a house, a playground sat silently , one swing dangling in the wind with a chain broken. The trail was gone and she shifted back, too tired to care. Under one of the swings sat a large paw print of a bear, the sand smashed dark. "Of course."

With the dawn came an undeserved sense of safety from the young group who met in the cool grass of the park. Lauren had called them together knowing that none slept soundly if it all. She told them of the chase and the footprint it left behind. "It's probably not a locus, the amount of activity around it has been minuscule."Their leader shifted nervously, wracking his brains. "Lauren keep tabs on the park. It might be a connection to the spirit."Thomas spoke up with a chuckle. "That fucker ate lead. It would take a week minimum before it could even make the jump again. That's assuming it even wanted to." Lauren nodded. "Maybe a similar one to it. From the same birth or at least area."A murmur of exhaustion echoed through the group. Deciding to give them a break the Lucas rubbed his eyes and waved his hand. "Fuck it. get rest and we can handle it when it becomes a problem." Sarah yawned and mumbled a thank you as the group split.

The day passed by slowly as Thom, Sarah and Noah powered through their various shifts with the help of excess caffeine. Lucas had no obligations or priorities and spent the day mapping the city with a marker where they knew various spots of activity were bound to spring up. As the sun finally began to set, a light fog crept through the town and blanketed them silently. Sunday nights were usually quiet on this end of town and any outside noise seemed to be eaten by the gray. The pack met once more at the stroke of midnight in a local park after everyone had finished getting at least some rest. The park was quiet and under a dull yellow light of a barn they unfolded various maps and papers onto a table, with Sarah bringing a large leather bound book and slamming it down. "Lucas may I start?" Asked Noah. He nodded and Noah grabbed a marker, putting an X on the main entrances into underground or sewer exits in the city. "For the last week the amount of regular _hithim_ popping out of the gauntlet has gone down. While the city continues to grow, they know that being out in the open would be a fools game. However, in two weeks worth of _shartha_ have been walking around the city. Anything we or the others put down seem to just take cover inside of random innocents. " Looking confused Thom stepped forward. "Are they taking sides? Is this their way of flaunting a totem around?" Noah shook his head. "For whatever reason, the spirits don't want to wander the shadow as much as they used to."

Sarah sat completely focused, he thoughts racking for an answer. "From the _motes_ to the Upper Jagglings, no spirit wants to spend more time here then they have to to get what they desire from the mortals." The wind picked up and scattered the pages across the table, Noah running around the park after them. Lucas sighed as he watched. "Sara I need you to contact the _lil_ of the park or at least find something that can lead us to em." She nodded and left, looking for a place to make the crossing into the shadow. The rest of the group sat and waited while Lucas thought. Reflecting on the attacks from the last spirits, look stared intently at the map. "Thomas, remember the possessed girl from last month?" He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "The one who burned her apartment down?" "The one who threw the dumpster through the Wendy's over on Elizabeth. She kept screaming about the death of everything around her right? See if we can round her up in the shadow and make sure she doesn't know something we don't."


End file.
